This posting is about operating the charcoal gasifier, and how to start the process. It will be important to remember, that even charcoal gasifiers are fuel specific, and as a rule of thumb, the smaller the gasifier, the smaller the fuel (within reason). The charcoal should be sieved, and I suggest that nothing under 20mm be used until you establish the optimum size for the type of wood the charcoal is made from.
Your gasifier should have a single air nozzle with a screw cap for shut-down on the outside end, a gas outlet, and a lid with a heat proof seal, which is a gasifier in the most basic format. If you decide to make one with a grate, then you will also have to include a gas clean-out port in the bottom.

Since I began working with producer gas in 1976, the question of it's quality, and how to measure it in a way that clarifies it's purity, has never in my mind, been answered by gas analysis. I have seen many gas analysis presented to prove a gasifiers function, and therefore justify claims of how this gas can be used, but this can hide a multitude of problems within the gas making phenomena.

While charcoal gasifiers are as simple as desperation determines, the choices as to how they are designed is very much a factor of applied knowledge, using the materials that might be available. In the main, we will only be using components made of steel, and using basic welding equipment for assembly.

Gasifiers:

Attached is a Spread Sheet "Gasifier and Engine Tables" that should answer a number of questions relating to diesel fuel displaced by using wood gas in a dual fueled engine, or the amount of wood required to provide sufficient gas to run a Spark Ignition (SI) engine of any size.

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TR Miles Technical Consultants Inc. www.trmiles.com
Portland, Oregon, United States of America

TR Miles Technical Consultants assist the development, design and installation of Agricultural and Industrial Systems for Materials Handling, Air Quality and Biomass Energy;
Renewable energy from biomass and wastes.